Stencils

ABSTRACT

A stencil is formed from a sheet of substantially paintimpervious material and has a design applied thereto by cuts which extend through the sheet. To permit the stencil to be secured in position to determine the exact location of a design to be painted one surface of the sheet has applied thereto a coating of a water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive. The stencil is flexible and can be readily peeled from a surface to which it has been adhered.

United States Patent Budden 1 Dec. 30, 1975 [5 STENCILS 3,520,757 7 1970 Heaney et a1 161/2 or: B ian T omas Budden Guildford, 3,526,064 9/1970 Spldell 51/262 England FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assignee: Samuel Jones & Company, Limited, 13431063 6/ Germany England Filed: y 1974 Primary ExammerP. E. W1ll1s, Jr.

Appl. No.1 466,013

US. Cl. l0l/l28.2; 428/40; 428/68; 428/447; 428/503 Int. Cl. B41N l/24 Field of Search l0l/128.2; 117/362, 73, 117/155 UA; 161/250; 427/142 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1959 Morgan 101/128.1 11/1961 Frasher et al.. 101/1282 12/1962 Anderson 101 H2812 m mm .m FIIIQJII-Ffl'IJ'bTIIIIfl-FI 2 ,191.: lull; iii.

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Snyder, Brown & Ramik 57 ABSTRACT A stencil is formed from a sheet of substantially paintimpervious material and has a design applied thereto by cuts which extend through the sheet. To permit the stencil to be secured in position to determine the exact location of a design to be painted one surface of the sheet has applied thereto a coating of a watersoluble pressure-sensitive adhesive. The stencil is flexible and can be readily peeled from a surface to which it has been adhered.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures will; A\\\ US. Patent Dec. 30, 1975 3,929,068

STENCILS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to stencils for use when painting designs on surfaces such as walls, for applying lettering to sign boards, or producing pictures on paper or other material. I

2. Description of the Prior Art Stencils for purposes as above referred to are well known in many forms but usually consist of a relatively rigid sheet in which a design is cut and which must be held manually in position during painting to apply the design to a surface. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a stencil which does not need to be manually held in position during painting thus avoiding the possibility of inadvertent displacement of the stencil during painting with consequent spoiling of defini tion of the applied design.

SUMMARY The stencil according to the invention is made from flexible sheet material to which the design is applied by cuts extending through the sheet an'd has applied to one surface thereofa water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive which permits the stencil to be adhered to a surface to which the design is to be applied and to be peeled from the surface after application of the design to the surface. In a preferred embodiment the sheet is formed from layers of laminated material, a preferred laminate consisting of a layer of polyethylene between two layers of kraft paper. I I I BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is .a diagrammatic plan view of a part of a stencil according to the invention, and n FIG. 2 is a section, not to scale on the line II-Il, FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, thestencil comprises a first sheet 1 and a second sheet 6 which constitutes a cover for the first sheet. The first sheet 1 is a composite sheet comprising a layer 2 of polyethylene laminated between two sheets 3 and 4 of kraft paper, the composite sheet 1 having a weight of 128 g/m One surface, the lower as shown in FIG. 2, of the sheet 1 has applied thereto a coating 5 of a water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive. The adhesive coating 5 is, in turn, covered by the second sheet 6 one surface of which is coated with a silicone release material 7 the release-coated surface being adhered to, but readily removable from, the water-soluble pressure-sensitive coating 5.

The sheet 1 has pieces 8 of a requiredldesign cut therefrom by ,cuts 9 which extend through layers 2, 3 and 4 making up the sheet 1 and through the adhesive coating 5. The pieees 8, however, remain in position in 2 the sheet 1 due to adherence thereof to the second sheet 6. i

The stencil as just described can be used to apply the design of the pieces 8 to a wall by peeling the second sheet 6 and the pieces 8 adhering thereto from the sheet 1, and then adhering the sheet 1 to the wall in the desired position by means of the adhesive coating 5. Paint is then applied to the wall through the holes left by removal of the pieces 8, the construction of the sheet 1 rendering it substantially paint impervious, that is substantially unaffected by the applied paint. After the applied paint has dried the stencil, being flexible and held in place by the pressure-sensitive adhesive 5 can be readily peeled from the wall, and any residue of the adhesive coating 5 can be washed from the wall with water, the design defined by the holes in the stencil remaining painted on the wall.

Another way of using the stencil is to adhere the complete stencil, that is including the pieces 8, to a surface, for example a wall, which may have been previously painted, and then to peel the body of the stencil from the wall leaving the pieces 8 adhered to the wall. The surface can then be painted, the pieces 8 being painted over, and when the paint is dry thepieces 8 can be peeled from the surface, leaving the design on the surface. I

It will be understood that the design can be cut in the sheet 1 in a manner such that the pieces 8 of the sheet are completely removed during manufacture of the stencil, or the cutting can be such that, as described above, the pieces 8 remain in position in the sheet at manufacture of the stencil but are readily removable from the sheet for use of the stencil. The second sheet 6 can beapplied to the sheet 1 before cutting of the sheet 1 so that following cutting of the design in the sheet 1 the pieces 8 remain in positionjn the sheet 1 adhered to the second sheet 6 ready for removal, when required, together with the second sheet.

Various methods of, and apparatus for, cutting and coating sheets with adhesive, and for applying silicone coated sheets to water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive coatings, as required for the manufacture of stencils iniaccordance with the invention are well known and are, therefore, not described herein. Further, various kinds of suitable water-soluble 'pressure-se nsitive adhesives are well known and not referred to specifically herein.

I claim:

1. A stencil consisting of a first sheet in which a design is defined by cuts extending through the sheet, and a second sheet constituting a cover for the first sheet, the first and second sheets being bonded together by a. coating of water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive on the first sheet, and the second sheet having a coating of silicone release material on its surface contacting the adhesive on the first sheet, permitting the first and second sheets to be peeled apart, the first sheet comprising a layer of polyethylene laminated between two layers of kraft paper.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,929 ,068

DATED 1 December 30, 1975 INVENTO I Brian Thomas Budden It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below: 7

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data December 17, 1973 British ..58322/73-.

Signed and Sealed this second Day of March 1976 [SEAL] A ttest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresring Officer (ommr'sxionvr oj'Parems and Trademarks 

1. A STENCIL CONSISTING OF A FIRST SHEET IN WHICH A DESIGN IS DEFINED BY CUTS EXTENDING THROUGH THE SHEET, AND A SECOND SHEET CONSTITUTING A COVER FOR THE FIRST SHEET, THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS BEING BONDED TOGETHER BY A COATING OF WATERSOLUBLE PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE ON THE FIRST SHEET, AND THE SECOND SHEET HAVING A COATING OF SILICONE RELEASE MATERIAL ON ITS SURFACE CONTACTING THE ADHESIVE ON THE FIRST SHEET, PERMITTING THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS TO BE PEELED APART, THE FIRST SHEET COMPRISING A LAYER OF POLYETHYLENE LAMINATED BETWEEN TWO LAYERS OF KRAFT PAPER. 